This concentration-style matching game tests students' spatial memory. Players are presented with a set of cards, face down, and must click on them to flip them over. The object is to find identical matches, but each time a card is selected, points are deducted. Try to match several pairs in a row to earn extra points. After each round is completed, players can progress to the next level of difficulty. This makes a great interactive "filler" activity- but make sure you turn off the sound! It will drive you crazy!

This interactive game challenges young students to remove all but one jumping frog from the pond by using careful planning and logic. Points are awarded each time a frog is eliminated (checkers style), and bonus points can be earned if the final frog is left sitting in the middle of the pond.

If you're looking for meaningful enrichment activities in the form of challenging, yet entertaining games and puzzles, this may be just what you need. The riddles, illusions, and other mental adventures are taken from the Brain Explorer, a book written for children from age 9 to 12. Brain-bending games include Memory Solitaire, Welcome to the Third Dimension, and Jumping to Conclusions. Some are entirely "on-line interactive," while others require some effort with paper and pencil. Created by the Exploratorium.

Howtoons shows you how to create projects out of ordinary household items. Anyone who likes to construct, to use tools, to draw, to do-it-yourself, and to get active should visit Howtoons. This very cool program narrates in cartoon format the story of a witty, preteen brother and sister who build all sorts of projects to accent the situations they find themselves in. The many projects range in difficulty from creating a trash bag raincoat, to building a Wobbler; a robot that moves using a servo motor. Each narrative starts with a little story, has a list of supplies needed, and gives simple diagrams to follow. They also slip in information such as how the ancient Greeks used drawings to express their ideas, share their history, and record their culture. Howtoons strives to promote safety, inspire creativity, and stress good work habits. Find an interesting project in categories like Animation, Biology, Computing, Communication, Craft, Energy, Engineering, Environment, Fashion, Food, Geometry, Holiday, Math, Music, Play, and Tools. Projects are available online or in PDF format.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Language arts, science, and arts and crafts teachers will find Howtoons invaluable for teaching students to read and follow directions, to use different tools, to work safely while constructing, and even to collaborate. Have small groups of students work on a project together. Once your students have completed the projects, have a mini project fair in your room to show them off. Or, you can have students take pictures of each step, upload the images onto UtellStory, reviewed here. This site allows users to narrate a picture. Or for less adventurous students, create a PowerPoint. Then have them add the directions, and present the UtellStory or PowerPoint and the product to the class.
Do you have students who are always finished early? Or reluctant readers? Make Howtoons the "go to" program for them. Have them pick a project, bring in the materials, and build it. They can even present it to the class when finished, and let the class know the pitfalls to avoid.

Tap into your students' creativity and strengthen visual/spatial intelligence with this collection of web-sized interactive programs that encourage drawing, playing and exploring. A free Shockwave plug-in is required and can be downloaded easily from the site. Best used with a high-speed Internet connection.

OK, this one's mostly for fun, and we're showing our age. Still, the online version of the famous drawing toy performs much as the original did. Try this one on your students as an example of what high tech was thirty years ago. Just don't try to clear your screen by turning it upside down and shaking it! Operate the game using the arrow keys on your keyboard.

In the Classroom

Have young ones practice left and right by working with a partner at classroom computers, with one partner directing "left" or "right, "up" or "down" while the other operates the keys. Together they can make a drawing! Older students will be amused by the simplicity. See what they can create with just one continuous line.

This is an online tool that lets users experiment with lines, fills, and color to create their own kaleidoscope. There are lots of possible imaging, color, and mathematical connections that one might draw from this one. It's also just plain fun to try. This site requires FLASH. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

The Ontario Science Centre's student web page offers several collections of resources, including a set of games and puzzles done with just the right touch of student-level humor. Each of these offers an intriguing introduction to some sort of scientific phenomenon. This would be a good site to add to your list of "exploring" sites, since it offers a broad collection of content that changes periodically.

This is a nicely done flash-based multiplication game that should be attractive to elementary students. The game's ability to offer up problems based on specific review criteria could also make this one useful for parents or teachers who want to give students a little more practice with specific numbers or number ranges. Registered users have access to additional game components and tools.

Music teachers rejoice! Here's an engaging site that explains and demonstrates music theory and performance terms in ways that will keep the attention of students from elementary through high school. This collection of Flash animations demonstrates tempo, harmonization, instrument groups, pitch, meter, and many other elements. Among all the sounds and visuals, there is also thoughtfully written text that can link the presentation to personal experience. This site requires FLASH. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

Subtitled "it's OK to be smart," this site offers a collection of games, puzzles and activities designed to challenge active minds. There are also original articles, a 2-minute quiz, and a post card feature.

Set is a challenging logic game that is often used in building reasoning skills in students. The premise is simple enough for elementary students to understand, but the applications can be a real challenge even for older students. This online version offers a daily sample to challenge students.

A creative collection of puzzles and brainteasers to challenge gifted students. This large collection is maintained by Hoagies and sometimes has a few dead links, but the collection is still worth visiting for the MANY good sites they share.

There's more to this one than meets the eye. This site offers a set of interesting Flash games for children age 2 to 9, along with descriptions of how each game tests and develops logic or thinking skills.

Created by inventor Dean Kamen, this competition encourages students in different age groups to team up and tackle challenges in robotics, physics, and engineering. The site offers detailed instructions as well as information on previous competitions - including some examples.

This site promotes chess, school chess clubs, and chess competitions. It offers free templates and other materials which can simplify running a chess club. There are instructional sections as well, but the focus is on getting students involved with the game.

This is a collection of really elegant "virtual manipulatives" created with funding from the National Science Foundation. These manipulatives are Java applets, so they may take a minute to load on a dial-up connection. They provide students with a challenging online way to reinforce math concepts in many content areas.

In the Classroom

Use this site to supplement almost any math lesson, grades pre-k through high school. Open the site on the interactive whiteboard or projector, and find the appropriate lesson aid for your classroom. This site can be used to introduce a variety of lesson plans, so be sure to explore the site previous to use.

Puzzles are highly motivational tools that capture the imaginations of students. To infiltrate the classroom with a vibrant brand of problem solving, this site offers a tantalizing educational bait-and-hook in the form of a new puzzle each month. Clearly illustrates puzzles and solutions. These ae not online interactives. The puzzles are explained in words or images on the web page. Some have downloadable pdf printables, as well.

This fun site offers a retrospective on Rube Goldberg's wacky inventions and includes examples of how present-day engineering students devise 20-step ways of accomplishing simple tasks. The site is a great "idea site" for students getting used to invention and problem solving.

In the Classroom

Review the invention pictures included on this site on a projector or whiteboard as an activator activity for an inventions unit. Have students draw or design their own machine for performing a similar every-day task.